A little family get-together

Writers: Paula, Vix
Date Posted: 26th April 2007

Characters: Eilomar, Aileyan, Eilowyn
Description: Eilomar's daughters Eilowyn and Aileyan come to visit him.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 6 of Turn 4
Notes: Follows 'What happened?'

"Yes, I had to bring him along," insisted Eilowyn, holding the thickly swathed bundle against her, despite the heat that they had encountered as they moved from /between/ to the heat of Dolphin Cove Weyr. She held her babe tightly, trying to push the worries about her father and what might await them from her mind. "He's only three months old and has never been separated from me. Besides, I have no milk mother for him, have never needed to have anyone else feed him, so what else was I to do?"

"All right, all right," Aileyan conceded. "But I still think taking baby to /between/ is risky. It's cold!" The young greenrider felt bit guilty.
Her own son was being cared by a fostermother. Of course, as a wingrider, all she could manage was restday-motherhood. "Let's find the infirmary," She continued. **Kjarliheth, can you ask directions from the watch dragon?**, she asked her lifemate.

}: Will do :{, the green was petite as her rider (on draconic scale). She soon get the reply from very friendly blue dragon and gave them to Aileyan.

"This way, Eilowyn," Aileyan showed the direction.

The older woman followed her sister, unwrapping the baby before looking around her. When she did note her surroundings, her eyes widened. "This is quite different from the old Harper lodgings."

"Yes, it is," Aileyan agreed. After she had received the message of Eilomar's heart attack, she had gone and visited Eilowyn. She thought it was just fair to let her know too. This visit was all Eilowyn's idea. It was so easy when Aileyan was rider.

"A Weyr. . ." Eilowyn's discomfort with the place was evident. "I prefer the old. . ." She turned to her sister quickly, though clutching the baby as if to protect him. "Nothing against dragons or riders or Weyrs, but I'm accustomed to Hold life and this. . ." she glanced around them, "This is _not_ what I remembered or expected. I knew that the harpers had moved here, but somehow it didn't quite sink in."

Aileyan rather liked the look of Dolphin Cove, but kept her mouth shut.
She had discover that best way to get along with her big sister was to let her keep her opinions and not to start arguing about them. They found the infirmary and Aileyan asked a passing apprentice healer where the master harper was. They entered his room and Aileyan hung back.

"Father!" The older woman ran forward, still clutching the baby awkwardly to her. She stopped at the side of the man's bed, shocked at how frail her father looked against the crisp sheets of the sickbed. "Father?"

"Eilowyn!" Eilomar was both surprised and happy to see his daughter. He had asked the healers to send them a letter but didn't expect them to come. "I glad you came. Is that your baby?"

She smiled, relieved that he had recognized her and must not be as frail as he looked. "Yes - Eilofen. I think he has your mouth and chin." She lowered the baby to the bed so that he could see the child.

This was first time Eilomar got a change to see his grandchild. The distance was too great for casual visits. "He's a handsome lad. Did Aileyan bring you?" He looked around and spotted his youngest daughter.
"Didn't you have child too?" he asked vaguely. He never had really paid any attention to his daughters.

"Hi, father," Aileyan greeted and step forward. She felt strange saying it, knowing that Eilomar wasn't really her father. "Yes, Ravyan. He's with his fostermother," she continued.

Eilomar was staring her, and terrible doubt was starting to dawn in his mind. Aileyan looked so different than her sister or him. She was petite and dark where Eilomar and Eilowyn were both blonds and heavily built.
Eilowyn had plump, lushy figure, while Aileyan was as willowy as her mother.

How long exactly had Ailewyn been cheating on him?

"It's too bad that both of them couldn't have been here," remarked Eilowyn, oblivious to the undercurrents around here. "I'd certainly like to see my nephew, and Eilofen really should get to know his cousin. We could have the entire family together at once." She ended with a broad smile for her father.

"Yes, that would be nice," Eilomar replied, distracted by his thoughts. Aileyan shuddered. She was not in speaking terms with her mother. Last time she saw her, she had been throwing items after her and her friend M'non.

By now Eilowyn had finished unwrapping the baby and was bouncing the groggy-looking child gently in her arms. "But how about you, Father? Have you been taking care of yourself? What have the healers decided is the reason for your attack?"

"Well, mostly it's over weight and stress," Eilomar replied, always eager to talk about himself. "I'm going to be fine, but I should lessen my workload at the hall." **And decide what I'm going to do with your unfaithful mother.**

His daughter nodded thoughtfully. "You've always worked far too hard, Father. I think that they take too much advantage of both your talent and your time within the Hall. Perhaps this scare will help everyone to see the value of having a resource like you available without calling upon you to do tasks that are beneath you."

"Yes, you're so right, dear," Eilomar said, patted clumsily her hand and rewarded her with the paternal affection he didn't give her when she was a child.

Eilowyn beamed at this new-found attention. "Of course, you won't be able to go back to work right away, will you?" She glanced around the stark surroundings of the infirmary room. "How long must you stay here?"

"That depends what the Weyrhealer says," Eilomar shrugged. Hey, he got his dinner to bed and had no duties. Except for the bossy healers, he might even enjoy it.

"It seems to me that you'd be better off in your own bed," fussed his daughter. "Eilofen and I could stay for a while and I could help Mother take care of you." She frowned as a thought suddenly occurred to her.
"Where is Mother? I thought she'd be here with you."

"Why don't you ask her," **the deceitful bitch.** Eilomar suggested. He wasn't ready tell her what had happened yet. Infirmary wasn't the right place for family drama and he was still to exhausted to face his wife.

"We probably should try to find her before we leave here." The older daughter looked uncertainly toward her sister. "We can hardly visit here and _not_ see her, can we? She'd be very disappointed."

"You can visit her all you want, I won't," Aileyan replied flatly. "We are not in terms. I can wait at the dining cavern or somewhere. There's no rush back home."

Eilowyn was torn, wanting to see her mother and yet. . . "Surely she visits you regularly each day?"

Eilomar just grunted.

"She should be here. . ." The older daughter looked to her sister. "Do you want to go with me to find her or stay here with Father?"

"I'll stay, you can go and find her if you want to," Aileyan shrugged. "I think I should." Eilowyn smiled at her father. "I'll bring her back here. You'll like that, won't you?"

"If you want so," Eilomar said with a wave of his hand. But Aileyan could sense his uneasiness, and it made her wonder what was going on.

His daughter hesitated only for a moment, then adjusted the baby to fit more comfortably in her arms and headed for the door. "Where are your quarters now? That's the first place I should look."

"At the harper hall..." Eilomar proceeded to give her directions to how to find his quarters. Or weyr as it was called here.

Eilowyn was not comfortable with the idea of traipsing about the Weyr, but it had to be done. She had no clue why her mother was not by her father's side, but she fully intended to drag the older woman back here. "I won't be long. While Eilofen and I are gone, the two of you can have a nice visit." With that, she was through the door and off on her mission.

Last updated on the April 26th 2007

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

A little family get-together